Monday, October 20, 2008

I can't remember the last time I made ham and split pea soup. It's probably been 10 years, which is remarkable since it's my favorite cool weather soup. I just don’t understand why I haven’t made it in so long.

I've made bean soup, lentil soup, rice soup, and potato soup dozens of times each over the last decade, but not split pea.

I've had leftover ham around countless times. I've ordered it in restaurants, so it's not like I forgot it existed. I'm sure I've even warmed up a can or two of Progresso at home, but making a batch never crossed my mind. It's a soup mystery that now consumes me; which is very ironic if you think about it.

Anyway, the important thing is that I made it, and it was everything I remembered homemade ham and split pea to be - a hearty, soul-warming bowl of dull green brilliance. No matter how often you make it, this has to be on everyone's top 10 soups of all-time list. Enjoy!

WOW there is some major Food Karma going on or you felt my craving accross the country--I had just been dwelling about split pea soup this past week. Over the weekend I picked up a few bags of split peas to make this favorite soup and have some on hand for the winter. Oddly soup its the only way I will eat peas. I just can't eat them in their little ball form, but split em and add some ham and spices--I cannot get enough of it. My version from my grandma's recipe is slow cooked for about 4 hours, adds garlic/olive oil to the onion sweat, dry mustard & a hefty bit of fresh Dill Weed to the basics. I will try your recipe for sure too! Good Food-Karma wishes to you Chef & Thank You! -cb

We always make this after having a ham roast(leftovers, in my opinon, are the best part about ham roasts). We take whatever ham hasn't been saved for cold sandwiches and toss them in the pot with the bone.

The bone really does give the soup something extra, and I can't recommend enough that you try it.

Hey Chef John, First time posting and I want you to know I love this site! This recipe is very close to our family recipe, except we add a ham bone and simmer for a couple of hours at least. Add a slice of warm, fresh-baked sourdough slathered with butter and I'm in heaven.

I actually did use yellow lentils cos i can't get those peas here. They seemed to soak up a the liquid really fast though, so I added more midway through. Also, used a piece of steak diced really small. I don't dig on no swine, man.

I made this soup last night and let me tell you, absolutely amazing... Just like Chef John said, really hearty and delicious! I substituted the pound of ham with two big sticks of carrot and it worked wonders! Thanks Chef John!

I add diced carrots to my recipe too. It adds a nice sweetness to balance the salty ham flavor. And again, using a pressure cooker speeds up the cooking time to about 15 minutes. Speaking of which, I would love to see a video on pressure cooking. :)

Chef John, I tried your recipe and it was sooo... delicious. It tasted as though I spent hours cooking it, so hearty, and satisfying. I didn't know something so simple can taste so complicated. Thanks.

I've made this a few times since you first posted it, and it's wonderful. I had tried making pea soup many times before, but always from whole dried peas that somehow made it into my cupboards!Ever tried Habitant brand pea soup from Canada? Maybe it's just me, but ever since I was a kid I loved the stuff!

If you're ever in Quebec or Eastern Canada I suggest you pick up a can. I've had a few people I've met from the USA that were in the area on vacation, and they said none of the canned pea soup available south of the border compared. :-)

Its snowing here in NYC, so I decided to make this soup. I couldn't find "country ham" at my super market (and the weather is too awful to walk to Fairway) so I just used regular smoked ham. Nothing like some hot split pea soup with a warm quesadillia to go with the lovelly view of snow falling outside.

Thanks John! I used my Christmas ham to make this soup. For 25 years my husband has been the "split pea and ham" soup king in our home, keeping his recipe a secret, but I think I dethroned him with this one :)Like others, I added about a cup or so of julienned carrots for freshness and color. Also for more color, I used half yellow split peas. For some reason kids seem to be intimidated by all that green!

Can I use canned summer sweet peas (Green Giant brand) as a substitute for split peas? Would I be able to reduce the cooking time as the peas don't need to be rehydrated? How about frozen peas? Many thanks.

I am making this soup as I am writing this comment... Saw the video earlier today... and by the time I got home I decided I HAD to make it. So far my kitchen smells absolutely great. I did add 1/2 tsp cumin and a small cauliflower to it, and added the garlic later, so it can still have it's own power in the flavor.

Had a hanker'n for this soup, so came and did a Foodwishes search for the recipe over one year after it was posted. Followed video to the tee and...DELICIOUS! Thanks Chef John. Wish I'd thought to rinse the peas and/or read the comments before cooking, though. Oh well. Live and learn. I made on stove per video in morning, actually had some for breakfast, then transferred to crockpot and kept on warm until I got back home from work. What a treat to arrive to a delightful aroma and warm, hearty bowl of split pea soup!

For the next batch I'll add some diced carrots to the "sweat" along with some dry mustard. Maybe also try the marjoram suggestion as well.

First I'd like to thank you for your site. I'm a recipe addict and your sense of humor and talent for making recipes with such ease and confidence has helped me try things I normally wouldn't.

I'm compelled to post (1st time) because I received a gift from a relative of a smoked turkey (yuk) and a ham. Immediately I thought about making pea soup, regretting that I'd never paid attention to my mom when she made hers. I was so pleased to find that you did a video of your Country Ham and Split Pea soup.

I chuckled at your comment in the video "I wondered how come there's no city ham" and I thought the same.

After I made the initial ham dinner and was about to throw away the pamphlet that came with the ham, I noticed it said "City Ham!"Now I'm wondering what the difference is. So I googled and found this site. http://www.samcooks.com/food/meat/HamCountry.htm (it is case sensitive to pull up)

So for Danny who posted "what he thought was of city ham" using Spam, and anyone else that would like to be enlightened, here you have it.

I'm sure Chef John that you already knew this and it was your sense of humor to make us all think about it :), however now I have a dilemma, do I use this darn "city ham" for my soup or do I go get myself a country ham?! Not really, if Danny can make Spam work, I'm sure my city ham will be just fine.

In case anyone is wondering of the origin of my city ham, my gift came from www.smokehouse.com

I get quite a few people who lament not being able to cook very well and not really knowing the basics. This is usually as they are eating some home cooked thing I've done. Since it took me 30 years to get to where I am now I used to not know what to say that would be truly helpful.

Now I just say "Foodwishes.com baby!" I just said it today to a friend who loved her lunch of split pea soup and wanted the recipe. I get my inspiration from a lot of sources, not all of which I would recommend to a beginner but I was able to say that the soup she loved so much was easy and there was a video recipe for it along with lots of videos with basic technique. Foodwishes.com baby.

Hi, Chef John. The link to this video doesn't seem to be working. I've loaded this page in two different browsers and the video doesn't show up. It's a shame, because I'm looking for a new pea soup recipe. Thanks! And thanks for the great, simple, inspiring recipes. You rock!

I have just recently discovered you and am in love. my speciality is my Whitevelvet cheesecake which I have been selling to support myself since my last employer decided a 70 year old faithful loyal employee was no longer necessary to sustain their business. I am going to use your recipe for crème fraiche and hopefully increase my sales. can't thank you enough by the way, I've been making split pea soup for ages. am glad you also like it.